Climate Change News part.10
STRAWBERRY MOON RISES DURING SUMMER SOLSTICE FOR 1ST TIME IN 68 YEARS
Tuesday, June 21, 2016 06:02AM By ABC7.com staff
Tuesday, June 21, 2016 06:02AM By ABC7.com staff
Visibility of the beautiful amber-colored moon rising was slightly hindered due to the smoke and ash created by the Reservoir Fire and Fish Fire in the Angeles National Forest on Monday. The summer solstice is the day with the most amount of sunshine as the sun reaches the highest point throughout the course of the year.The last time a full moon landed on the summer solstice was in 1948, the Old Farmer's Almanac reported. The phenomenon has several different names throughout the world, but the most common include the strawberry moon, rose moon and honey moon.
http://abc7ny.com/weather/strawberry-moon-rises-over-socal-during-summer-solstice-for-1st-time-in-68-years
http://abc7ny.com/weather/strawberry-moon-rises-over-socal-during-summer-solstice-for-1st-time-in-68-years
'STRAWBERRY MOON': 2016 SUMMER SOLSTICE SYNCS WITH JUNE'S FULL MOON
Monday, June 20, 2016 08:51AM By ABC7.com staff
Monday, June 20, 2016 08:51AM By ABC7.com staff
LOS ANGELES -- This year's summer solstice on Monday brings a special event, as it coincides with the full strawberry moon for the first time in nearly 70 years.
The summer solstice is the day with the most amount of sunshine as the sun will reach the highest point throughout the course of the year. Despite its name, the strawberry moon will glow more of a warm amber color than pink or red.
The Old Farmer's Almanac's Bob Berman explained, "The sun gets super high so this moon must be super-low. Even at its loftiest at 1 a.m., it's downright wimpy-low. This forces its light through thicker air, which also tends to be humid this time of year, and the combination typically makes it amber colored."The phenomenon has several different names throughout the world, but the most common include the strawberry moon, rose moon and honey moon. The strawberry moon received its name from Native American Algonquin tribes, which knew it as the signal to collect ripe fruit, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The last time a full moon landed on the summer solstice was in 1948, the Old Farmer's Almanac reported.
http://abc7ny.com/weather/strawberry-moon-2016-summer-solstice-syncs-with-junes-full-moon
The summer solstice is the day with the most amount of sunshine as the sun will reach the highest point throughout the course of the year. Despite its name, the strawberry moon will glow more of a warm amber color than pink or red.
The Old Farmer's Almanac's Bob Berman explained, "The sun gets super high so this moon must be super-low. Even at its loftiest at 1 a.m., it's downright wimpy-low. This forces its light through thicker air, which also tends to be humid this time of year, and the combination typically makes it amber colored."The phenomenon has several different names throughout the world, but the most common include the strawberry moon, rose moon and honey moon. The strawberry moon received its name from Native American Algonquin tribes, which knew it as the signal to collect ripe fruit, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The last time a full moon landed on the summer solstice was in 1948, the Old Farmer's Almanac reported.
http://abc7ny.com/weather/strawberry-moon-2016-summer-solstice-syncs-with-junes-full-moon
Strawberry moon coincides with Summer Solstice for first time since 1967
20 JUNE 2016 • 10:46AM Sarah Knapton, science editor
20 JUNE 2016 • 10:46AM Sarah Knapton, science editor
As the sun sinks beneath the horizon on the longest day of the year on the evening of Monday June 20, it will be worth looking up.For the first time since 1967 the summer solstice coincides with a rare ‘strawberry’ moon and, clouds willing, the 17 hours of sunlight will give way to a bright moonlit sky. Despite the name, the moon will not appear pink or red, although it may glow a warm amber. The romantic label was coined by the Algonquin tribes of North America who believed June’s full moon signalled the beginning of the strawberry picking season. Other names for the phenomenon in the Northern Hemisphere include Rose Moon, the Hot Moon, and the Honey Moon, while in the Southern Hemisphere it is known as the Long Night Moon. “Having a full moon land smack on the solstice is a truly rare event,” said astronomer Bob Mernan of Farmer’s Almanac.
“By landing exactly on the solstice, this Full Moon doesn’t just rise as the Sun sets but is opposite the Sun in all other ways too. “The Sun gets super high so this Moon must be super-low. This forces its light through thicker air, which also tends to be humid this time of year, and the combination typically makes it amber coloured. This is the true Honey Moon.”
Around 25,000 people are expected to gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to celebrate the solstice, which comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still” The day is considered to be sacred by many pagans around the world who celebrate the solstice among their yearly holidays and sometimes call he festival Litha, a term dating back to the Venerable Bede for the months of June and July. English Heritage, which is charging people to park at Stonehenge for the first time this year, has asked revellers to respect the ancient monument.
“Stonehenge is an ancient prehistoric site which has been a place of worship and celebration at the time of the Summer Solstice for thousands of years,” said a spokesman. “This important place is seen as many as a sacred site. Please respect it and please respect each other.” The solstice occurs when the tilt of Earth's semi-axis, in either northern or southern hemispheres, is most inclined toward the sun. The Sun will rise at 4.45am and set at 1.34pm. After tonight the days begin to shorten in the northern hemisphere Although the meeting of the strawberry moon and solstice has no more significance than an interesting astronomical alignment, it has been causing excitement amid astrologers. "There is a lot of stuff that is lining up to make this moon quite potent,” said astrologer Timothy Halloran.
“There is an explosion of energy that will go on with this full moon.” The last strawberry moon occurring on the solstice occurred on June 22 1967. If you miss Monday's you'll have to wait another 46 years before you can see the full moon on the summer solstice with the rare event not happening again until June 21, 2062.
www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/06/19/strawberry-moon-coincides-with-summer-solstice-for-first-time
“By landing exactly on the solstice, this Full Moon doesn’t just rise as the Sun sets but is opposite the Sun in all other ways too. “The Sun gets super high so this Moon must be super-low. This forces its light through thicker air, which also tends to be humid this time of year, and the combination typically makes it amber coloured. This is the true Honey Moon.”
Around 25,000 people are expected to gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to celebrate the solstice, which comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still” The day is considered to be sacred by many pagans around the world who celebrate the solstice among their yearly holidays and sometimes call he festival Litha, a term dating back to the Venerable Bede for the months of June and July. English Heritage, which is charging people to park at Stonehenge for the first time this year, has asked revellers to respect the ancient monument.
“Stonehenge is an ancient prehistoric site which has been a place of worship and celebration at the time of the Summer Solstice for thousands of years,” said a spokesman. “This important place is seen as many as a sacred site. Please respect it and please respect each other.” The solstice occurs when the tilt of Earth's semi-axis, in either northern or southern hemispheres, is most inclined toward the sun. The Sun will rise at 4.45am and set at 1.34pm. After tonight the days begin to shorten in the northern hemisphere Although the meeting of the strawberry moon and solstice has no more significance than an interesting astronomical alignment, it has been causing excitement amid astrologers. "There is a lot of stuff that is lining up to make this moon quite potent,” said astrologer Timothy Halloran.
“There is an explosion of energy that will go on with this full moon.” The last strawberry moon occurring on the solstice occurred on June 22 1967. If you miss Monday's you'll have to wait another 46 years before you can see the full moon on the summer solstice with the rare event not happening again until June 21, 2062.
www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/06/19/strawberry-moon-coincides-with-summer-solstice-for-first-time
UN: Rising air pollution in world's cities killing millions
May 12, 2016
GENEVA (AP) — Almost everyone in large cities in poor and middle-income countries faces excessively high air pollution, a growing problem that is killing more than 3 million people prematurely each year and "wreaking havoc on human health," the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The U.N. health agency says more than four out of five city dwellers worldwide live in cities that don't meet WHO air quality guidelines — 98 percent in poorer countries and 56 percent even in high-income countries. "Ambient air pollution, made of high concentrations of small and fine particulate matter, is the greatest environmental risk to health, causing more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide ever year," WHO said. The findings are part of WHO's third Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, which examines outdoor air in 3,000 cities, towns and villages — but mostly cities — across 103 countries. It's based on country reports and other sources for the period from 2008 to 2013, although some nations, including many in Africa, don't contribute data. An accompanying U.N. news release said global urban air pollution levels rose 8 percent over that time span "despite improvements in some regions," and noted that people face a higher risk of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases as air quality worsens.
"Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health," said Dr. Maria Neira, a WHO director for environment and public health. "At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air quality. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease." The agency's database named Zabol, Iran, as the city with the highest annual mean concentration of particulate matter of less than 2.5 microns in diameter — a key measure of air pollution that could damage health.
By that measure, India stood out as home to more than half of the 21 most polluted cities on the WHO list. New Delhi, which had previously topped the list, dropped to No. 11. The Indian capital has managed to decrease its annual average concentration of particulate matter by about 20 percent from 2013 to 2015. The change coincides with a series of air-clearing measures including banning older cars and cargo trucks from the city, introducing steep fines for construction pollution or garbage burning, and shutting down an old coal-fired power plant. "New Delhi has succeeded in arresting the trend, which shows that if you take action, you will see results," said Anumita Roychowdhury of the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment. But India overall is still struggling. The WHO data showed four other Indian cities — Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna and Raipur — surpassing New Delhi to rank within the world's top ten polluted cities — coming in second, third, sixth and seventh, respectively.
In Europe, the Bosnian city of Tuzla had the worst air on the continent, although its pollution level was far less than in much larger cities in India, Pakistan and China. The worst air pollution in a U.S. city was in California's Visalia-Porterville area,
but it too ranked far lower — 1,080th — than many developing-world cities. Paris came in at 1116th most polluted, London at 1,389th and the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island region at 2,369th. The database's cleanest town was Sinclair, Wyoming, ranking 2,973th with a particulate matter (PM 2.5) of 3, compared to 217 for the most polluted city, Zabol. WHO guidelines urge a PM 2.5 rating of 10 or less. But WHO technical officer Sophie Gumy cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between cities from different continents, saying the data from various sources doesn't always line up exactly.
Some countries publish official air pollution statistics, but others don't. Some of WHO's data comes from academia.
Some monitoring stations could be near highways, which could skew the results. Some data includes night air pollution, which tends to be less than during rush hour, but other national reports do not. And rainy seasons can rinse away air pollution, while drier climates can let the pollution linger.
The agency praised efforts by policymakers to promote cleaner transportation, more efficient energy sources and better waste management. "More than half of the monitored cities in high-income countries and more than one-third in low- and middle-income countries reduced their air pollution levels by more than 5 percent in five years," the agency said.
This version corrects that New Delhi is now ranked 11th, not 9th; corrects the time span for when New Delhi reduced its particulate matter to 2013-2015, and corrects the rankings for the Indian cities of Patna and Raipur to the sixth and seventh most polluted cities in the world.
Katy Daigle in New Delhi contributed to this report.
www.mail.com/int/scitech/news/4338354-un-rising-air-pollution-worlds-cities-killing-mill.htm
The U.N. health agency says more than four out of five city dwellers worldwide live in cities that don't meet WHO air quality guidelines — 98 percent in poorer countries and 56 percent even in high-income countries. "Ambient air pollution, made of high concentrations of small and fine particulate matter, is the greatest environmental risk to health, causing more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide ever year," WHO said. The findings are part of WHO's third Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, which examines outdoor air in 3,000 cities, towns and villages — but mostly cities — across 103 countries. It's based on country reports and other sources for the period from 2008 to 2013, although some nations, including many in Africa, don't contribute data. An accompanying U.N. news release said global urban air pollution levels rose 8 percent over that time span "despite improvements in some regions," and noted that people face a higher risk of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases as air quality worsens.
"Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health," said Dr. Maria Neira, a WHO director for environment and public health. "At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air quality. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease." The agency's database named Zabol, Iran, as the city with the highest annual mean concentration of particulate matter of less than 2.5 microns in diameter — a key measure of air pollution that could damage health.
By that measure, India stood out as home to more than half of the 21 most polluted cities on the WHO list. New Delhi, which had previously topped the list, dropped to No. 11. The Indian capital has managed to decrease its annual average concentration of particulate matter by about 20 percent from 2013 to 2015. The change coincides with a series of air-clearing measures including banning older cars and cargo trucks from the city, introducing steep fines for construction pollution or garbage burning, and shutting down an old coal-fired power plant. "New Delhi has succeeded in arresting the trend, which shows that if you take action, you will see results," said Anumita Roychowdhury of the Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment. But India overall is still struggling. The WHO data showed four other Indian cities — Gwalior, Allahabad, Patna and Raipur — surpassing New Delhi to rank within the world's top ten polluted cities — coming in second, third, sixth and seventh, respectively.
In Europe, the Bosnian city of Tuzla had the worst air on the continent, although its pollution level was far less than in much larger cities in India, Pakistan and China. The worst air pollution in a U.S. city was in California's Visalia-Porterville area,
but it too ranked far lower — 1,080th — than many developing-world cities. Paris came in at 1116th most polluted, London at 1,389th and the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island region at 2,369th. The database's cleanest town was Sinclair, Wyoming, ranking 2,973th with a particulate matter (PM 2.5) of 3, compared to 217 for the most polluted city, Zabol. WHO guidelines urge a PM 2.5 rating of 10 or less. But WHO technical officer Sophie Gumy cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between cities from different continents, saying the data from various sources doesn't always line up exactly.
Some countries publish official air pollution statistics, but others don't. Some of WHO's data comes from academia.
Some monitoring stations could be near highways, which could skew the results. Some data includes night air pollution, which tends to be less than during rush hour, but other national reports do not. And rainy seasons can rinse away air pollution, while drier climates can let the pollution linger.
The agency praised efforts by policymakers to promote cleaner transportation, more efficient energy sources and better waste management. "More than half of the monitored cities in high-income countries and more than one-third in low- and middle-income countries reduced their air pollution levels by more than 5 percent in five years," the agency said.
This version corrects that New Delhi is now ranked 11th, not 9th; corrects the time span for when New Delhi reduced its particulate matter to 2013-2015, and corrects the rankings for the Indian cities of Patna and Raipur to the sixth and seventh most polluted cities in the world.
Katy Daigle in New Delhi contributed to this report.
www.mail.com/int/scitech/news/4338354-un-rising-air-pollution-worlds-cities-killing-mill.htm
International coalition formed to boost green city planning
05 May 2016 Jocelyn Timperley
05 May 2016 Jocelyn Timperley
Newly launched Coalition for Urban Transitions aims make the economic case for green city development
A new initiative is aiming to make the economic case for greener and more sustainable urban development by helping ministers around the world put city infrastructure investment "at the heart of their growth strategies". The Coalition for Urban Transitions, launched today at the ongoing Climate Action 2016 Summit in Washington, brings together over 20 major public and private institutions, including Siemens, PwC and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the goal of bridging the gap between national-level economic planning and city-level decisions..
"Mayors know about the economic and wider benefits of sustainable cities, which is why many are doing everything they can to act on the opportunities from low carbon growth," said Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro and chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, one of the founders of the coalition. "However, the scale of the urbanisation challenge is so large that we can't do it alone. We need national-level policy makers and economic planning to complement city-level efforts."
The coalition will work in a number of rapidly-urbanising countries, such as China and India, to support development of mass transport systems and smart city technology. Research released last year by the New Climate Economy - another founder of the new coalition - concluded investment in low-carbon cities could save the worldwide economy almost $17tr by 2050 through a $977bn initial investment into low-emission transport, building efficiency, and waste management projects.
Aniruddha Dasgupta, global director at managing partner of the coalition the World Resource Insitute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, said the opportunities from a well-managed "global urban revolution" could be tremendous. "For instance, just investing in sustainable transport offers not only social and environmental advantages but can also deliver savings of as much as $300bn per year," said Dasgupta. "Getting this kind of information - about the clear economic benefits of building better cities - into the hands of decision makers can help set us on a path where each country can start to reap the benefits of an urban dividend." The news comes just days after Japanese car manufacturer Nissan last week announced the launch of a cross-industry advisory board on the future of mobility.
The new Intelligent Motoring Advisory Board brings together 12 members from a range of companies and organisations, including the European Climate Foundation, Frost & Sullivan and Ecotricity, with the aim of addressing how new mobility solutions can contribute to smarter and cleaner living. "Selling cars is no longer a moment-in-time transaction," said Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan's head of electric vehicles for Europe, who will lead the coalition. "Cars have a fundamental impact on the cities we live in and the lives we lead. With the advent of new technologies and drivetrain innovations, new mobility solutions can make our lives 'smarter' and better connected." Nissan said the advisory board will be independently chaired by science and technology journalist Stephen Pritchard.
www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2457075/international-coalition-formed-to-boost-green-city-planning
A new initiative is aiming to make the economic case for greener and more sustainable urban development by helping ministers around the world put city infrastructure investment "at the heart of their growth strategies". The Coalition for Urban Transitions, launched today at the ongoing Climate Action 2016 Summit in Washington, brings together over 20 major public and private institutions, including Siemens, PwC and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the goal of bridging the gap between national-level economic planning and city-level decisions..
"Mayors know about the economic and wider benefits of sustainable cities, which is why many are doing everything they can to act on the opportunities from low carbon growth," said Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro and chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, one of the founders of the coalition. "However, the scale of the urbanisation challenge is so large that we can't do it alone. We need national-level policy makers and economic planning to complement city-level efforts."
The coalition will work in a number of rapidly-urbanising countries, such as China and India, to support development of mass transport systems and smart city technology. Research released last year by the New Climate Economy - another founder of the new coalition - concluded investment in low-carbon cities could save the worldwide economy almost $17tr by 2050 through a $977bn initial investment into low-emission transport, building efficiency, and waste management projects.
Aniruddha Dasgupta, global director at managing partner of the coalition the World Resource Insitute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, said the opportunities from a well-managed "global urban revolution" could be tremendous. "For instance, just investing in sustainable transport offers not only social and environmental advantages but can also deliver savings of as much as $300bn per year," said Dasgupta. "Getting this kind of information - about the clear economic benefits of building better cities - into the hands of decision makers can help set us on a path where each country can start to reap the benefits of an urban dividend." The news comes just days after Japanese car manufacturer Nissan last week announced the launch of a cross-industry advisory board on the future of mobility.
The new Intelligent Motoring Advisory Board brings together 12 members from a range of companies and organisations, including the European Climate Foundation, Frost & Sullivan and Ecotricity, with the aim of addressing how new mobility solutions can contribute to smarter and cleaner living. "Selling cars is no longer a moment-in-time transaction," said Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan's head of electric vehicles for Europe, who will lead the coalition. "Cars have a fundamental impact on the cities we live in and the lives we lead. With the advent of new technologies and drivetrain innovations, new mobility solutions can make our lives 'smarter' and better connected." Nissan said the advisory board will be independently chaired by science and technology journalist Stephen Pritchard.
www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2457075/international-coalition-formed-to-boost-green-city-planning
Global coal and gas investment falls to less than half that in clean energy
Thursday 24 March 2016 14.58 GMT Fiona Harvey , environment correspondent
Global investment in coal and gas-fired power generation plants fell to less than half that in renewable energy generation last year, in a record year for clean energy. It was the first time that renewable energy made up a majority of all the new electricity generation capacity under construction around the world, and the first year in which the financial investment by developing countries in renewables outstripped that of the developed world. Catherine Mitchell, professor of energy policy at the University of Exeter, said the developments were “extremely significant” and showed a new trend. She said: “We are looking at serious sums of money being invested in clean energy, with the dirtiest forms of fossil fuels the losers. This is the direction of travel that we need to see to have a chance of escaping the worst impacts of climate change.” About $286bn (£200bn) was invested globally in renewable energy last year, more than the previous peak of $278bn reached in 2011, according to research published on Thursday by the UN Environment Programme (Unep). The figures exclude investment in large hydroelectric plants but include solar, onshore and offshore wind and biomass.
China alone accounted for 36% of the global total, as the country pins it hopes on clean energy as a means of combating air pollution. Chinese investment rose 17% from 2014 to 2015, totalling $103bn. This surge is likely to continue for years to come, as China’s recently-unveiled new five-year plan places a strong emphasis on new renewable energy. The rise in renewable investment comes even as fossil fuel prices suffered sharp falls last year. However, as the report covers 2015 it may not have fully captured the continued depression in fossil fuel prices, which may have further effects on investment in new generation in future. In the US, money committed to renewables rose strongly as new rules took effect. Although investment was up by a fifth, to $44bn, it was still less than half of China’s. Europe, once world leader in clean energy, gave one of the worst showings.Investment fell by a fifth to $49bn, despite a surge in offshore wind, according to the report, which was co-authored by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
In part, these headline investment figures reflect falling costs, particularly for solar panels, which have tumbled in price by more than 60% since 2009. But they also illustrate the need for politicians to play a role in encouraging clean technology, according to Mitchell. “Globally, we are seeing a rapid take up of renewables alongside a switch to more energy-efficient and flexible electricity systems. Technology changes are facilitating that transition, but increasingly it is governments that are holding it back, as policy makers are failing to put in place policies that can keep up,” she told the Guardian. “This is particularly the case in the EU, that has been prone to a ‘boom and bust’ approach to renewables deployment [by which an initial enthusiasm from politicians is followed by a rowing back as the costs of subsidies become apparent], which will see [member states] lose out to countries that can provide more long-term policy clarity.”
Solar power had a particularly good year, according to Unep, with a 12% increase in investment to $161bn globally, while the boost to wind was much smaller, an increase of about 4% in dollar terms to $110bn. Biomass energy plants and biofuels also dropped significantly, as did geothermal energy systems and wave and tidal energy. Many green campaigners are likely to cheer the diminishing investment in controversial biofuels – down 35% to $3bn – and biomass – a fall of 42% to $6bn, when waste-to-energy plants are included. But the relatively tiny amounts invested in the promising geothermal technology, which dropped by more than a fifth to $2bn, and the paltry showing of marine energy – a plunge of 42% to only $215m – will be of concern to those hoping that these technologies could plug the gaps for regions where solar and wind power are less practical.
Unep also warned that it was far from certain that the strongly positive trends for clean energy would continue, especially as the recent falls in fossil fuel prices were only beginning in the year the report examined. “Policy support for renewables remains fickle,” the authors cautioned, pointing to the UK government’s withdrawal of incentives, and the US supreme court decision delaying Barack Obama’s clean power plan. “It is also possible that the recent big fall in coal, oil and gas prices may tempt some developing countries to keep relying on fossil fuel capacity for longer.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/24/global-coal-and-gas-investment-falls-to-less-than-half-that-in-clean-energy
China alone accounted for 36% of the global total, as the country pins it hopes on clean energy as a means of combating air pollution. Chinese investment rose 17% from 2014 to 2015, totalling $103bn. This surge is likely to continue for years to come, as China’s recently-unveiled new five-year plan places a strong emphasis on new renewable energy. The rise in renewable investment comes even as fossil fuel prices suffered sharp falls last year. However, as the report covers 2015 it may not have fully captured the continued depression in fossil fuel prices, which may have further effects on investment in new generation in future. In the US, money committed to renewables rose strongly as new rules took effect. Although investment was up by a fifth, to $44bn, it was still less than half of China’s. Europe, once world leader in clean energy, gave one of the worst showings.Investment fell by a fifth to $49bn, despite a surge in offshore wind, according to the report, which was co-authored by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
In part, these headline investment figures reflect falling costs, particularly for solar panels, which have tumbled in price by more than 60% since 2009. But they also illustrate the need for politicians to play a role in encouraging clean technology, according to Mitchell. “Globally, we are seeing a rapid take up of renewables alongside a switch to more energy-efficient and flexible electricity systems. Technology changes are facilitating that transition, but increasingly it is governments that are holding it back, as policy makers are failing to put in place policies that can keep up,” she told the Guardian. “This is particularly the case in the EU, that has been prone to a ‘boom and bust’ approach to renewables deployment [by which an initial enthusiasm from politicians is followed by a rowing back as the costs of subsidies become apparent], which will see [member states] lose out to countries that can provide more long-term policy clarity.”
Solar power had a particularly good year, according to Unep, with a 12% increase in investment to $161bn globally, while the boost to wind was much smaller, an increase of about 4% in dollar terms to $110bn. Biomass energy plants and biofuels also dropped significantly, as did geothermal energy systems and wave and tidal energy. Many green campaigners are likely to cheer the diminishing investment in controversial biofuels – down 35% to $3bn – and biomass – a fall of 42% to $6bn, when waste-to-energy plants are included. But the relatively tiny amounts invested in the promising geothermal technology, which dropped by more than a fifth to $2bn, and the paltry showing of marine energy – a plunge of 42% to only $215m – will be of concern to those hoping that these technologies could plug the gaps for regions where solar and wind power are less practical.
Unep also warned that it was far from certain that the strongly positive trends for clean energy would continue, especially as the recent falls in fossil fuel prices were only beginning in the year the report examined. “Policy support for renewables remains fickle,” the authors cautioned, pointing to the UK government’s withdrawal of incentives, and the US supreme court decision delaying Barack Obama’s clean power plan. “It is also possible that the recent big fall in coal, oil and gas prices may tempt some developing countries to keep relying on fossil fuel capacity for longer.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/24/global-coal-and-gas-investment-falls-to-less-than-half-that-in-clean-energy